Chapter 5 - The Legal Reckoning
The battle wasn't over. Three days after the eviction, we received a formal court summons.
Evelyn, desperate to maintain her lifestyle and avoid paying back the forged loan, had hired a sleazy family lawyer. She was suing Lucas for "filial support," claiming she was an elderly woman left destitute by an ungrateful son, and demanding that we pay her five thousand dollars a month in maintenance fees, along with a share of the Silver Creek apartment.
"She’s delusional," my attorney, Eleanor Vance, said as we sat in our law firm’s high-rise office downtown. "But in this state, parental support laws can be tricky if they can prove she has no other source of income."
"She has an income," I said, sliding a thick manila envelope across the desk. "She just doesn't declare it."
Over the weekend, Lucas and I had done some digging into Evelyn's financial history. We discovered that the "destitute" mother-in-law actually owned two rental properties in her home state, which she had secretly transferred into Kimberly’s husband’s name to keep them hidden from the courts during her own divorce years ago. She was collecting cash rent from both properties while claiming to live on a fixed pension.
"This is tax fraud, asset hiding, and perjury," Eleanor smiled, her eyes lighting up with professional satisfaction. "They didn't just walk into a trap; they built it themselves."
The court hearing was scheduled for the following Friday.
When we walked into the family courtroom, Evelyn and Kimberly were already sitting at the plaintiff's table, looking smug. Kimberly wore a loose-fitting black dress, trying to look as pregnant and vulnerable as possible, while Evelyn wiped fake tears from her eyes with a lace handkerchief.
"Your Honor," Evelyn's lawyer began, putting on a grand show. "My client is a retired widow who has poured her life savings into her son's education and career. Now, in her golden years, she is being thrown out of her home, her personal property destroyed, and left with nothing while her son lives in a luxury apartment in Silver Creek."
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The judge, a stern woman with sharp eyes, looked over at our table. "Does the defense have a response?"
Eleanor stood up calmly. "We do, Your Honor. And we would like to present the court with the plaintiff’s actual financial portfolio."
